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Java

Posted by Jake Henry
Jake Henry
4,787 Points

About escaping quotes?

Why does the \"" in the following code work when logically wouldn't it be like this "\" as it is after mDescription. It seems like this would print out "" mDescription" . This is the code : public String toString() { return "Treet: \"" + mDescription + "\" - @" + mAuthor;

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
243,266 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
243,266 Points

One is an ending, one is a beginning.

That first cluster of symbols (\"") is an escaped quote that is at the end of a literal string, which is being closed by the other (unescaped) quote. The whole literal string is: "Treet: \"", which represents this as the actual content:

:point_right: Treet: "

The second bundle of symbols is where an escaped quote is at the beginning of a literal string. The whole string is: "\" - @", which represents this content:

:point_right: " - @

All of this is so mDescription which is being concatenated with these literals will appear in the output with quotes on either side.

Jake Henry
Jake Henry
4,787 Points

Ok, I was looking at the escape quote backwards and upside down. Now it makes perfect sense, Thank you!